Hello!
I'm Eleanor Lyon and "Lost in a Concrete Jungle" is my debut piece of fanfiction.

First, thanks for even considering reading this fic and thank you for continuing! I didn't think I would have any readers when I published this, so having anyone read it at all is beyond exciting!
Second, I actually don't have a beta for this fic as of yet, therefore my writing is pretty dodgy. There will be typos, spelling mistakes, grammatical errors and discontinued trains of thought. I'm sorry, believe me, I hate all of those too. However, if anyone is willing to take on the job, just offer, I promise I won't bite. I'd probably send you flowers in the mail actually!

If you're interested at all you can contact me at my personal blog on tumblr. The link for that is on my profile.

I'll be posting chapters of "Lost in a Concrete Jungle" there as well.

Cheers in advance to anyone who reviews! I love you dearly! I'm not fussed if I don't get reviews, but I still love feedback, especially constructive criticism and plot ideas. If you're more comfortable giving feedback through tumblr instead though, then that's completely fine!

I hope you enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. =)

Xox Eleanor

The savoury scent of chicken and sweet corn soup wafted from the Goodwill shelter's broad double doors, a teasing predecessor of the meal being served up to the less fortunate that night. The shuffling bodies huddled in their makeshift clothes as they lined up for what may possibly be their first meal in a week.

As Rachel joined the queue of strangers, she remembered having once said that there was a quiet dignity in being homeless. She scoffed inwardly. Seeing this struggling crowd and living on the streets for the comparatively short time that she had, she now knew first-hand how ridiculous she had been in her assumptions before coming here.

For the first few weeks after she had been outed from her apartment, she had absolutely refused to scavenge in dumpsters for food remnants. No, she was determined not to sink so low. If Sam could do it, so could she, right? Rachel Berry would maintain her dignity, no matter the adversity. She could find a way out of this. At least that's what she had convinced herself in the beginning, before the hunger pains set in.

They were agonising. At first it was just a hollow feeling and niggling pains in her gut. But, as time passed, the symptoms worsened. Debilitating aches racked through her abdomen as her body protested at the lack of food. More often than not, Rachel found herself curled up on the sidewalk in the foetal position, whimpering in pain as she clutched her torso waiting for the cramps to subside so that she could move again. It was times like those she found herself praying her Dads would miraculously find her and sweep her away with them back home to Lima. After a while she figured out that, even though she couldn't fill herself up with solid food, she could fill herself up with water. She sought relief in the water of public drinking fountains, but the relief was only short lived and could not satiate the hunger that gnawed at her belly. Even in her disgust it hadn't been long before she too had given in and resorted to searching trash cans for morsels of food. By that time she had lost most of her inhibitions due to the over-whelming instinct for self-preservation anyway. Had that made her a different person somehow? The Rachel Berry she was before she left Lima would never, ever have done that, unless of course, her acting career depended on it. She knew she would do anything for her that.

Hunger hadn't just afflicted her body though; it had made her delirious when it reached its peak. Rachel had been wandering aimlessly along an inner city boulevard – she didn't pay attention to the names of them anymore – when it had happened. The weather was sweltering; no breeze from the bay reached her here in between the towering walls of skyscrapers. She was passing by a magazine and snack stall when she saw a young man - probably her own age - ask for a Snickers bar. For some reason, still unbeknownst to her, the simple mention of the candy bar had triggered the memory of the ad accompanied with the catch-phrase "You're not you when you're hungry."

Rachel had laughed quietly to herself at the cruel irony. Of all the phrases in the world… She mused. Rachel let out a small chuckle again, repeated the saying in her head in a sing-song way, like a child would. You're not you when you're hungry! The chuckle slowly grew to a delighted cackle as she indulged in the simple pleasure of laughter. It felt so foreign to her now! The strange bubbles of air that made its way from her belly, tickled her throat, and cascaded from her mouth in the form of sound. How long had it been since she had last laughed? She paused abruptly, thinking for a few seconds before realising she couldn't remember a time when! Her laughter escalated, drawing disturbed gazes from passer-by's. The cackles became more panicked as she walked further and further away from the snack stall. She clutched at her chest, feeling the sharply irregular rise and fall of it as she gasped desperately for air in between bouts of hysteria.

How could she not remember? Wasn't there a time before having to forage for scraps? Before having to sleep accompanied by a family of spiders in an abandoned factory attic? Had McKinley High been real? Or just a product of psychosis? Had there ever really been a Glee club called "New Directions"? A handsome quarter-back named Finn Hudson or a fashion-savvy counter-tenor known as Kurt Hummel?

Rachel could no longer tell. And it was this fact frightened her more than any threat of starvation ever could.

Rachel threw her head back and let out a wail of despair at the life – imaginary or not – that she had lost. Her voice cracked, it was nothing more than a shadow of what it once had been. … Had been? But hadn't it always been this way? Choking sobs shook her fragile frame.

Her delirium was beginning to decrease now though, leaving her shaky and unstable. Randomly it reminded her of getting off a thrilling roller coaster at Six Flags, and finally setting foot on solid ground only to find yourself too dizzy to stand. And stand she didn't. Rachel Berry collapsed, exhausted beside what was, unintentionally, her salvation.